Creepy Alabama doctor guilty of harassing patient

A pervy Alabama doctor with a creepy bedside manner has been convicted on three counts of harassment involving a patient.

Dr. Michael Dick was found guilty on Oct. 1 of one count and pleaded guilty to two others. Now, he faces a jail term of up to 90 days and a $1,500 fine.

Ashley Newcom, a former patient of Dr. Dick, testified he asked her to lay on her side on the exam table, and then open and close her legs. She claimed to have felt uncomfortable when he told her, ‘Oh, you’re so flexible,” according to TV station WHNT19.

Later in the exam, Newcom contended Dick grabbed her face, complimenting her repeatedly on her beauty. She said he was so near she thought he was going to kiss her. At that moment, she told the defense attorney she jerked backward feeling “alarmed.”

The doctor didn’t deny the claims, testifying that putting his hands on patients’ faces was fairly standard as a means of visually examining their throats to spot sleep apnea. Dr. Dick also claimed he routinely flattered patients of both sexes to put them at ease “with their guard down.”

He said the practice allows better memory retrieval of crucial information, such as family medical history.

Although he denied attempting to make Newcom uncomfortable, other former patients have brought forth harassment charges relating to his medical practice in Decatur.

“We have been investigating Dr. Dick, and with the convictions, we can now take action without compromising the criminal case,” Wilson Hunter, the general counsel for the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, told WHNT19. “Now, we will present the results of our own investigation, alongside the convictions, at the next board meeting.”